Researchers are asking for Scouts' 'perversion files'

by Scott K. Parks - Sept. 19, 2010 12:00 AMDallas Morning News

DALLAS - The Boy Scouts of America calls them the "perversion files."

The stories locked inside a neat row of metal file cabinets at BSA headquarters in Irving, Texas, would sicken the most callous reader. Many of them document the activities of pedophiles banned from Scouting for molesting boys in tents, on hikes or while helping them earn merit badges.

The BSA, the nation's premier youth organization, its wholesome image honed by iconic Norman Rockwell paintings throughout the 20th century, has meticulously kept the files since the 1920s.

They number in the thousands, but no one knows much about them because Scout executives and their lawyers insist they remain confidential.

Now, a growing chorus of critics is calling on the Scouts to open their sexual secrets to public scrutiny. They argue that the files contain a treasure trove of misdeeds that academic researchers and law enforcement might use to learn more about man-on-boy pedophilia.

"These files represent the largest reservoir of information ever gathered on the sexual abuse of boys in the United States, bar none," said Paul Mones, an Oregon lawyer who represents former Scouts who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of adult Scoutmasters.

"Even before the pediatric medical community and the law-enforcement community knew the extent of the problem, the Boy Scouts knew about it and kept it a secret," Mones said.

Another lawyer, who also represents former Scouts in sex-abuse cases against the BSA, provided the Dallas Morning News with a hint of what the files contain - spreadsheets indexing 5,133 files opened between 1947 and 2005. The News has not seen the actual files.

The Scouts regularly open new files. But they insist the information be kept confidential to protect those who report sexual abuse from retaliation, to shield child victims from exposure and to protect the Scouts from defamation claims brought by suspected pedophiles named in the files.

Scouting executives say the files represent a tiny fraction of the millions of adult volunteers involved in Scouting over the years, and they contend that the pedophile problem is no worse in Scouting than in public schools or in other youth organizations.

The BSA also insists the files hold no value for academic or law-enforcement researchers hoping to gain insight into pedophilia.

"Accordingly, while local Boy Scout councils are required to report any suspicion of inappropriate conduct to law enforcement, The BSA believes - and third parties have confirmed - that the files are not useful from a research perspective," Scout executives wrote in a prepared statement to the News.

The 'I.V. files'

Formally, the Scouts refer to the files as "the ineligible-volunteer files," or the "I.V. files."

Each one is labeled with the name of a Scoutmaster, Cub Scout den leader or other adult volunteer who has been banned from Scouting because of wrongdoing.

Nathaniel Marshall, the Scout executive who keeps the files, says they are separated into six categories:

A few of the files involve men who never even made it into Scouting. Their misdeeds were noted by local Scout executives, and a file was opened just in case they ever applied to get involved in Scouting.

But the vast majority of the I.V. files involve pedophile adult volunteers and some paid Scout leaders. They run the gamut from those only suspected of wrongdoing to those serving prison time after criminal convictions.

Some files are thin, with only basic information about the pedophile. Others are thick and stuffed with court records, witness statements and other investigative material.

All of the files end up in the innocuously named "membership resources office." There is only one set of keys to the file cabinets, Marshall said.

Scout executives say they use the perversion files for only one reason: to keep pedophiles or other sexual deviants out of Scouting. When someone attempts to register as an adult volunteer, the application goes to the membership office. Clerks make sure the prospective volunteer is not someone named in an I.V. file.

The BSA also does criminal-background checks for all volunteer applicants. Successful applicants are subject to background checks every three years.

Notations in the file indices obtained by the News indicate the system often works. Pedophiles caught and banned by the BSA have tried to reapply to become Scoutmasters. But their applications have been denied for acts logged into the I.V. files.

Scout executives say they've never analyzed the files or used them to generate statistics on pedophilia in Scouting. Nor have they used them to determine whether policies to protect Scouts from pedophiles are working.